Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Industrial Strategy Consultation

Lord Prior of Brampton: My Rt Hon friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark) has made the following written ministerial statement:The Government is today publishing a Green Paper: “Building our Industrial Strategy”.This signals a new and collaborative approach to Industrial Strategy in the United Kingdom, helping to deliver an economy that works for everyone.We are working from a position of strength. We have built an open, dynamic and competitive economy since the financial crisis, with a record number of people in work. We have more businesses than ever, industry sectors that are world leading, a strong science and research base, and have seen significant growth.But there are challenges that the United Kingdom must face up to now and in the years ahead. Specifically we must:Build on our strengths and extend excellence into the future;Close the gap between the UK’s most productive companies, industries, places and people and the rest; andMake the UK one of the most competitive places in the world to start or grow a business.“Building our Industrial Strategy” sets out our approach to addressing these challenges in order to attain our objective: to improve living standards and economic growth by increasing productivity and driving growth across the whole country.In order to endure, our strategy should reflect the considerable contribution of a wide group of people and bodies who share our ambitions. That is why this is a Green Paper – a set of proposals for discussion and consideration, and an invitation to others to contribute collaboratively to their development. I have placed copies of the document in the libraries of the House.


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Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Growth

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: My rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Sajid Javid) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.In the last Parliament, £7.3 billion of the Local Growth Fund was awarded to Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) through the first two rounds of Growth Deals. At Autumn Statement, the Chancellor announced the regional breakdown of a further £1.8 billion of the Local Growth Fund. Today I am pleased to announce the individual awards that LEPs in the Northern Powerhouse will receive.Table A: Growth Deal 3 Funding Awards for LEPs in the Northern PowerhouseLEPFunding Award (£m)North Eastern49.74Cumbria12.66Tees Valley21.81York, North Yorkshire and East Riding23.68Lancashire69.76Humber27.94Leeds City Region67.45Liverpool City Region71.95Greater Manchester130.08Sheffield City Region37.83Cheshire and Warrington43.28 This flexible funding sits alongside £475 million for Local Transport Majors and £2 billion long-term funding for housing transactions through the Home Building Fund. This was the most competitive round yet, and allocations were made based on a bidding round that took place last year. This honours our Manifesto pledge to agree an expanded set of Deals to empower the towns, cities and counties across the country to fulfil their potential and create an economy that works for all. The expanded deals will provide LEPs in the Northern Powerhouse with the power and funding to support local businesses, unlock housing where it is most needed and develop vital infrastructure to allow places to thrive. The funding will also be used to create jobs, equip a new generation with the skills they need for the future and attract billions of pounds of private sector investment. This investment is Government stepping up, not stepping back, building on our strengths to boost national productivity and growth.This adds to the £2.9 billion we have already invested in Growth Deals in the Northern Powerhouse in previous rounds, providing targeted financial support to locally-determined projects in order to unlock growth.This is part of Government efforts to build a Northern Powerhouse to help the great cities and towns of the North pool their strengths and take on the world. Step by step we are making the Northern Powerhouse a reality with over a million businesses involved, foreign direct investment up by a quarter and 187,000 jobs created in the past year alone.We will announce the allocations for LEPs in other regions over the coming weeks.


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Department of Health

Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (Health) – Brussels, 8 December 2016

Lord O'Shaughnessy: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Nicola Blackwood) made the following Written Statement on Friday 20 January:The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council met on 8 December in Brussels. For the health part of the meeting, the UK was represented by the Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU. The meeting featured one substantive item about the European Semester and health, and a number of other items as part of the ‘any other business’ section of the agenda.On the topic of the European Semester, the UK stressed member state competence and the importance of maintaining a narrow focus for the Semester. Regarding the involvement of health ministers in discussions about the Semester, the UK stated that it had no objection to focused discussions, although added that health ministers are already engaged through national coordination. Discussions about this issue will continue under the Maltese Presidency.Under the AOB part of the agenda, the UK presented on the candidacy of Dr David Nabarro for Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The UK emphasised Dr Nabarro’s UN experience – including on cholera, food security and sustainable development – and stressed that he has demonstrated a reform-minded approach and is committed to transforming organisational effectiveness. The UK stated that he had the backing of the Prime Minister and Chief Medical Officer.On Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the UK stressed the importance of keeping up momentum following the recent agreement of a declaration on AMR at the UN General Assembly, and outlined areas where work needed to be focused; including on research and innovation, the development of new products, on implementing national action plans and on benchmarking.There were also discussions on alcohol, about the production of paediatric medicines, and about follow up work relating to Council Conclusions on pharmaceuticals. The EU Commission provided an update on European Reference Networks, as well as feedback about the report State of Health in the EU, which it has jointly published with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. There was also an update about the discussions held at the recent Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.Finally, there were updates about recent conferences, and Malta provided an overview of priorities for their Presidency, commencing on 1st January.


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Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme PPRS Payment for 2017

Lord O'Shaughnessy: My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Nicola Blackwood) made the following Written Statement on Friday 20 January:On 23rd December 2016, the Government published the level of payment due from members of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) in 2017 to keep health service spend on branded medicines within the levels agreed under the Scheme.The Department of Health and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry have agreed in principle to amend Chapter 6 of the 2014 PPRS in accordance with paragraph 3.4 of the scheme in order that the scheme continues to deliver its agreed objectives of predictability and stability to Government and industry, and ensuring that the cost of branded medicines to the NHS stays within affordable limits. The effect of the changes is that the payment percentage for 2017 is to be set at 4.75% for 2017, and the 2018 PPRS payment percentage will be determined by reference to the existing PPRS payment mechanism, provided that the resulting percentage falls within the lower and upper limits of 2.38% and 7.80%. The Government recognises the additional contribution being made by the pharmaceutical industry in acknowledgement of the financial challenges facing the NHS.The Department has published a document setting out further details entitled “Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) 2014: revised payment percentages at December 2016”. A copy is attached.



PPRS Scheme
(PDF Document, 49.6 KB)





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